Chapter 204: "Genius"

Chapter 204: "Genius"

I was walking in silence.

The sun was in the sky.

The wind against my body was cold, but it was warmer than when it was snowing.

I was slightly resentful of the clear sky, but there was nothing I could do about it.

A few days after Stanislas's story the other day, I was currently in Oratorium, having passed through Medrym, I think.

While paying attention to my colleagues, I organise my actions in my head.

At the same time, I keep an eye on my surroundings.

There's nothing odd about what I see.

After walking for a while, a village comes into view, which is also, shall we say, normal.

It doesn't look particularly wealthy, but on the other hand, it doesn't look like it's impoverished either.

I heard that they are very well off...

That's strange.

I instructed my men to gather information and passed through the village.

At night, they set up camp.

The number of men I brought with me for this negotiation is three hundred and fifty.

One hundred and sixty each from the Cristela and Marselan units, and thirty from me.

I grit my teeth inside, thinking that I should have brought more men, but it's no use thinking about it.

My men are lightweight.

I'll do my best in that direction.

"Now that we've made it safely into Oratorium, how are the people in the territory?"

The place is a tent prepared by the lady of Crystella in the encampment.

There are three of us: me, the Marslan boy, and Mistress Cristela.

Basically, we have these gatherings on a regular basis, which I personally think is a good trend.

It's better to exchange information and coordinate policies closely. If you don't, you'll get into trouble when the time comes.

I glance at the Marslan boy.

He seems to be participating in the conversation normally, but I can see that he is in a hurry.

The fact is, this guy does his job well.

I can honestly appreciate that, but on the flip side, that's all there is to it.

He just does what he is told and is not active like the young lady in Cristela.

The boy himself seems to be aware of this, which is why he seems impatient at every turn of his behaviour.

I hope he doesn't go off the rails...

This time, he turns his gaze towards the girl.

It's hard to tell, but she doesn't seem to have noticed any changes in the boy...

From what I can see, she's not familiar with the subtleties of that kind of thing. ......, so it's more like she doesn't understand.

She seems oddly enlightened or misaligned... When we talk, sometimes it feels like there is a subtle lack of engagement.

I feel a bit uncomfortable with the friction that that creates, even if it's a result of that.

The trouble is that I'm the only one who knows exactly what's going on, and that's also hard.

I feel a pain in my stomach when I think that the wrinkles will come to me in the end.

In addition, there is also the matter of the monster, so the mental burden is not half as heavy as it should be.

If this is the case, we might as well have asked to take Gregor and his people with us.

"Cathedral Knight Ehrman?"

"Oh, oh, sorry. It was the state of the village."

Oops, that was close. I'm thinking too much.

I put the reports from my men together in my head.

"The situation in the village is, in a word, normal. There is no heavy taxation, in fact, it is slightly lighter than the others. As far as I can tell, the atmosphere in the territory as a whole is not so bad. As for Gnosis, it's just that it's not well known and I didn't feel any kind of resistance, so as long as we get permission, we might as well add more churches."

Hearing this, the Christella girl gives a small smile.

"That's great, let's talk about increasing the number of churches at the time of the meeting. Next, about the monsters..."

"Uh... that way... ...... Apparently, the stories are all out of the realm of rumour, but at least there have been stories before about monsters running amok and setting villages on fire."

"Do you know where it is?"

"Yes, I've heard of it. If you want to know more, you'll have to go there yourself."

Is that wrong? Can't I beat Crystella no matter how I try?

She is superior to me in terms of sword, leadership and power of speech.

But no matter how high her abilities are, they are meaningless without results.

This time, the capture of monsters is included in the holy mission, just as it should be.

I'll do it.

I made up my mind and gently clenched my fists.

"Dotto dotto."

I - Ehrman - return to my tent, sit there and take a break.

With plans set, there is less to do, so my free thoughts go on to other things.

I think it's disgusting, but I can't stop because of ingrained habits.

I think about the lord of this place.

Rothfeld Haydn Oratorium.

He is currently recuperating due to ill health, so he hasn't been out in the open recently.

Therefore, I hear that his fiance, the daughter of Liard, is taking charge on his behalf.

...Poor health, huh?

It's a very fishy story.

When we looked into it, we found surprisingly little information on his recent movements.

If the stories are true, he's probably holed up in his mansion...

Considering the revenues of the estate, it is impossible to say that he is in need of money.

If he is ill or injured, he could be treated with money.

...then it's a psychological thing?

There is a story that at one point the management of this territory was in a very bad way.

It was just a rumour, but if it's true, it must have taken quite a pounding.

Then there was the fiance who gallantly saved the day.

From the outside, it would be a beautiful story, but at the same time it raises questions about Rothfeldt's competence as a lord.

As a result of the interviews, Rothfeldt's reputation is not flattering.

It seems that he was kept quiet, but we forced the villagers to open their mouths with a load of gold coins.

The residents would like to complain, as he is said to have done various things, such as temporarily raising taxes, allowing bandits to attack and causing damage to some villages.

From the way they talk, it seems they are not lying, which gives more credence to the story that the business has gone downhill.

That's when I started to think it was odd.

Basically, it is the duty of the lord to maintain the security of the territory.

Most of the time, they hire mercenary companies, leave it to the Gnosis or, if they can afford it, establish their own knighthoods.

I'm sure Rothfeldt understood that, but for some reason he terminated the contract.

At the same time, the bandit attack is ...... something of an artifice.

It would be a pity if it was a coincidence, but if it wasn't - the presence of the deputy's fiance flickers in the back of my brain.

...Oh, that's scary.

I'm terrified to meet her when I think about it.

I hope it doesn't turn out to be something strange...

"Oh, ouch. My stomach, my stomach..."

The pain starts to hurt, and I put my hand on the area and apply [healing].

After a few seconds of doing so, the pain subsides.

I don't want to do it anymore. I want to quit being a knight of the cathedral.

So I'm going to move to the countryside somewhere and open a small clinic.

All I have to look forward to is one drink a day and a few snacks. I don't want to be in the line of fire.

I'll treat minor injuries and illnesses, make a few coins, live a small life and slowly die.

It's the best, isn't it?

Somewhere in my head I thought I heard a voice saying that it was going to end in a dream, but I ignored it, saying that I should at least dream freely.

"...I'm going to sleep."

Tomorrow is also early. I should rest when I can.

I sat down with my equipment on and closed my eyes so that I could react immediately in an emergency.

Sleep is shallow and I don't think I can dream.